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A Greyhound bus bound for New York City had to pull over because it was infested with roaches. (Published Friday, Mar 15, 2013)

Updated at 1:12 AM EDT on Saturday, Mar 16, 2013

A Greyhound bus bound for New York City had to pull over and evacuate Friday because it was infested with roaches that dropped from the ceiling and skittered across seats and the floor, terrorizing riders.

Mothers tried to shield their children and riders jumped into the aisle of the bus as roaches bolted out of cracks and crevices, seemingly all at once, about 15 minutes after the 10 a.m. bus left Atlantic City, passengers told NBC 4 New York.

"All of a sudden the roaches came out of nowhere, they were on the floor, they were falling from the ceiling," said Andy Rodriguez, a passenger.

Tracy Harmon told NBC 4 New York that "people were shrieking and shaking roaches off."

"It was terrible," she said.

The bus was carrying 48 people and an unknown number of roaches, according to Greyhound.

"Once the driver became aware of the situation, the driver followed procedures by pulling the bus over to a safe location and notifying our dispatch office," Greyhound spokesman Timothy Stokes said.

A second bus was sent to pick up the passengers, and they later arrived at Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Greyhound said the company apologizes and has refunded the trip for all the passengers.